3 Eastlake lunch spots where you can eat without a wait

I don’t mind waiting in line for food occasionally, but I just don’t have five hours to spare to get tempura. I’ll leave the waiting to my colleague Tan Vinh — and those looking for tables at buzzy new Bellevue Japanese restaurant Tendon Kohaku — and spill the beans instead about three terrific little Asian cafes along Eastlake Avenue East. At these three restaurants, there is rarely a wait. There are also crispy chicken puffs, buttery sashimi, grilled pork banh mi and free two-hour parking as far as the eye can see.

Yoksod Noodles and Thai

1903 Yale Place E., Seattle; 206-420-3134, yoksodnoodles.com

This Thai restaurant, which opened in June, serves up a variety of noodle soups and dishes. The deep-fried chicken pancake ($10.50) holds up as a to-go order, but I can’t wait to go back and eat it piping hot out of the fryer. The appetizer is like a flattened spring roll, with the ground chicken filling spread thin between two layers of flaky dough and fried and the finished product cut into wedges and served with a side of sweet chili sauce. Also great was the braised beef noodle soup ($18.50), a steaming bowl full of hunks of braised beef, beef meatballs, beansprouts, cilantro, Chinese broccoli and your choice of noodles (I went with a wide rice noodle). The broth was rich without being thick or heavy and had plenty of sweet soy, spicy galangal and a little bit of star anise. There are also wok-fried noodle dishes like pad thai and dry-style noodle dishes on the menu. The dry-style chicken noodle also comes with your choice of noodles (egg, vermicelli, thin or wide rice noodle) topped with a pile of shredded chicken breast and Chinese broccoli, plus a handful of fried garlic. It’s served with a sweet/salty black soy broth.

Co May Bistro

1823 Eastlake Ave. E. #160, Seattle; 206-259-8983, comaybistro.com

The beauty of window-filled bubble tea shop Co May Bistro is in its simplicity. Service is kind, and fast, and the food menu is succinct: chicken, pork, beef or tofu banh mi and spam or tofu musubi. Also available: nearly two dozen kinds of fruit, specialty and milk tea options. I ordered a pork banh mi and Eastlake milk tea combo ($15.50) and opted to eat it at one of the small tables in the covered courtyard patio. The pork banh mi featured perfectly charred and fatty pork morsels stuffed into an airy baguette alongside sweet pickled carrots, cucumber, jalapeño and a thin, even smear of mayo. When it comes to milk tea, I’m a simple girl; I like 25% sugar and regular ice. However, Co May has all the good flavors for you to sample: strawberry matcha, coconut thai, lychee jasmine and more.

Moriyama Sushi

1823 Eastlake Ave. E. #153, Seattle; 206-259-9569, moriyamasushi.com

Located in the same building as Co May, Moriyama Sushi is a cozy little sushi bar with hardly a cooked item in sight. You won’t find tempura-battered shrimp or deep-fried chicken — instead, there’s delicate tuna tataki with ponzu ($15) and marinated squid salad ($7). Lunch on Friday is a quiet time, perfect for a solo lunch with a book. I had the sashimi regular bento box ($26) and got a cup of smoky miso soup, a small green salad with a mustardy vinaigrette, two pieces of salmon, one shrimp, one piece of albacore and two slices of bigeye tuna sashimi, plus seaweed salad and a four-piece spicy tuna roll. The sashimi was like butter, the spicy tuna roll firm and spicy without being overpowering. A quiet lunch here felt like a real luxury and I would definitely come back to treat myself to dishes like the sushi candy (a seared scallop with salmon; $12) or the shiromi carpaccio with hot oil ($16).